HIV, AIDS infections up in Chicago after years of decline as cases rise among Latinos

Ricardo Jiménez feels like he’s going crazy.

The leader of public health initiatives at Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center is desperately trying to find a way to keep his HIV prevention programs afloat. But amid funding cuts and a backlash against diversity and equity efforts, he worries his Humboldt Park-based health programs could be wiped out by this summer unless new funding is secured.

“People will lose their jobs and that probably will include me, too,” he said.

It couldn’t come at a more challenging time.

HIV infections are on the rise in Chicago after about two decades of decline, growing 29% between 2022 and 2024. AIDS cases are also up slightly. In 2024, there were 818 new HIV cases — and nearly half were among Latinos, the population Jiménez focuses on. That increase is particularly significant, marking the first time the racial and ethnic group accounted for most of the new diagnoses, said John Peller, CEO of the AIDS Foundation Chicago.

Chicago health officials say some early clues behind the increase among Latinos include a change in migration patterns which possibly included people who hadn’t been tested or maintained care, along with ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that could have interrupted HIV care.

The change comes amid two contradictory trends: Testing and treatment for HIV has advanced so much that it allows people with the virus who are treated to live relatively normal lives and, critically, not transmit the virus to anyone else. But those advancements are at risk as funding for treatment and prevention for communities most at risk are under attack.

“What we’re seeing right now is really setting us back in the trajectory of the HIV epidemic and it shouldn’t be that way,” Peller said. “It’s going to ultimately cost taxpayers and society more money to take care of people who are living with HIV, who may come down with an AIDS diagnosis, [and] end up in the hospital then it would be to prevent HIV in the first place.”

HIV cases among Latinos grow post-pandemic

The number of Latinos living with HIV or AIDS in Chicago grew nearly 17% from 2020 to 2024 while it dropped among the white and Black population during that period, according to the most recent city data. And in 2024, there was an increase in people with a late diagnosis of HIV/AIDS — they were diagnosed with HIV and then AIDS within 12 months — and half of those 156 people were Latinos.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said officials are looking into possible explanations, including a change in migration from 2022 to 2024.

During that time, more than 51,000 newly arrived immigrants, many who identify as Latino, resettled in Chicago. They were bused here and other Democrat-led cities by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a political ploy to critique former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. Some new cases could be among that population, which was getting tested for the first time, Ige said. People living in city-run shelters underwent medical screenings and testing.

“We want people to know that HIV is not a disease of one community or another. It is an area where we need everyone to be protected,” Ige said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. “And we need to change our strategies to be community oriented and culturally appropriate, but we don’t want any community to be stigmatized.”

The increase could also be fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. People delayed medical care because of a change to insurance or because they were afraid of falling sick with the virus, Ige said.

“Once that momentum shifts, it is hard to regain it,” Ige said. “It’s convincing people that PrEP is still important, staying connected to your care is still important, keeping your medical appointment is still important.”

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times file

PrEP is a medication that prevents HIV infection. While there is not a cure for HIV, medication, called antiretroviral therapy, can make it undetectable so an individual cannot transmit it, Peller said.

But if a person stops taking their antiviral therapy because their care is disrupted, the likelihood of transmitting HIV increases and it could result in more complex and costly treatments to get back to an undetectable viral load, Peller said.

To reach people at risk, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center went to nontraditional settings, like nightclubs and bars with special Latino music nights to offer HIV testing. It was also an avenue to inform people about medications and other resources, said Tichike Tumalan, a program coordinator. But without funding, they won’t be able to do that outreach.

“We are taking a couple steps back,” Tumalan said. “But also understanding our trans experience and also being Latino — I think we’ve always been in a position of uncertainty.”

The gap in accessing medications, in particular PreP, remains wide for Black and Latino populations, said Dr. Andrew Crone, an infectious disease specialist at Chicago-based Howard Brown Health. Cost could be one barrier, Crone said. He noted that at nearly 46% of all people living with HIV, Black patients still have the largest share of all cases and a rate disproportionate to their overall population. That rate dropped from nearly 49% in 2020 as cases dropped slightly and the number of Latino cases rose. Black residents also had the highest percentage of new AIDS cases in 2024.

There are programs that provide medication for people without health insurance or who are living in the U.S. without legal status, Crone said. Still, people are increasingly hesitant to share information with the government about their immigration or HIV status.

“We’re in a situation where people who previously knew they had access to medication and care are afraid to seek it because they are afraid of something happening to them,” Crone said.

‘Perfect storm’ amid funding crunch

Reaching the community most in need takes time and money. But funding for public health remains in limbo.

In February, the Trump administration announced millions of cuts to public health programs, including HIV prevention. In Illinois, the grants were restored, but funding only lasts through June, and it’s unlikely to be extended, Peller said. Those funds trickled down to the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which is not expecting the funds to be renewed for another year.

Across the country, states facing tightened budgets are limiting access to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides HIV treatment to individuals through a combination of federal, state and local funds, according to an analysis from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research and news organization. While the program hasn’t been limited in Illinois, Peller said the AIDS Foundation Chicago, along with other advocacy groups, are pushing the state Legislature to increase funding for HIV programs.

“It’s really a perfect storm of demand and need right now for state HIV programs,” Peller said. “We are having the increasing cost from the [Affordable Care Act] tax credits expiring, we have Medicaid cuts coming, and we have an increase in the number of people living with HIV in Chicago.”

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said it was monitoring legislation, but noted that any bill has to be carefully reviewed “to understand the fiscal impact,” and pointed out that the Illinois Department of Public Health is developing a five-year plan to address HIV prevention and care.

Jiménez had hoped city grants would keep their programs running. By March, the organization received another grant denial and believed they were being zeroed out of city funding. They gathered in the heart of Humboldt Park with other community groups to call on state officials to dip into emergency funds to continue HIV testing and medications.

“We are asking for answers, we are asking for dialogue and most importantly we are asking that communities we serve are not abandoned,” said Juan Calderón, a leader at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, during a March news conference.

Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times

The Chicago health department, which says it has only received partial federal funding, confirmed it denied three applications from the center, but it would provide some funding for mental health and emergency housing programs.

Ige, from the city’s health department, said it is looking for partners that match the community areas that saw HIV cases rise last year that are also culturally competent.

Long-term change to address how Latinos see HIV will also need to include community-driven services like support groups, said Alfredo Flores, associate director of operations at CALOR, a Chicago-based group that provides Spanish-language HIV services.

He says prevention has mostly focused on HIV care and PrEP, “and it hasn’t really been on building sustainable systems to encourage education, to encourage community-building and to encourage community education.”

For Esmeralda Lozano, an HIV tester and counselor for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, the funding uncertainty is scary even for her, as she worries about how she will continue to access PrEP and the health care she needs as a trans woman. But that won’t stop her from trying to pass on a positive message to those she interacts with, stressing to people that they are worthy of health care.

“We’re here to empower ourselves and just embrace us,” Lozano said.